The term "family plan" has been thrown around the wireless industry at will for years on end, and largely, the meaning hasn't changed a ton even as the mobile realm has evolved. Sprint's trying to shake up the very definition of the phrase, introducing a new "Framily Plan" at the news flowing from CES hits fever pitch. The Framily Plan (yes, it's really called that) enables consumers to decide "who they consider family." Your yoga teacher. Your favorite barista. Your fantasy football team. Parents on your son’s soccer team. Your BFF since high school. Your cube mate. All of those folks can now be "family" so far as your wireless plan goes.

It's a brilliant way to encourage Sprint users to invite people to Sprint who they may otherwise allow to continue using whatever carrier they're on, and one has to wonder if T-Mobile's all-out assault on the wireless industry has spurred such a move. Here's how the new plan works: The more people added to the group, up to 10 phone lines, the greater the savings for everyone on the plan. Because each account can be billed separately, customers can choose who is in their group.

For one line of service, new Sprint customers pay $55 per month per line for unlimited talk, text and 1GB of data. For each additional new Sprint customer that joins the Framily group, the cost per person goes down $5 a month up to a maximum monthly discount of $30 per line. Build a group of at least seven people and everyone gets unlimited talk, text and 1GB of data for $25 per month per line (pricing excludes taxes and surcharges).

All members of the group can customize their plan to meet their unique needs. For only $20 per month per line, Framily members can buy up to unlimited data plus get a new phone every year. Plan members can share the savings, without the hassle of sharing a bill. Each account can be billed separately.

The Sprint Framily Plan will be available in Sprint company-owned stores and Sprint third-party dealers beginning Friday, Jan. 10, and it's open to both new and existing users. So, time to get cozy with that enemy for the sake of saving a few bucks on wireless?